After 25 years working with the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Artists-in-Schools program, Jim
Arter has seen the effect of arts education.

And he has helped to make an impact.

“I’ve loved to share my passion for the arts and build sculptures with the kids in the schools,”
Arter said.

“By providing a program for children, you’re building your future audiences while enriching
their lives.”

Arter, 65, retired last month from his career to complete his “bucket list” — including a
long-planned safari in Kenya for which the Newark, Ohio, native will leave on Friday.

Since joining the Artists-in-Schools program in 1988, Arter has seen arts education expand and
shift from in-school activities to after-school and out-of-school programs.

“Our program was funded more as a public-safety program to help deal with poverty, drugs,
violence and other problems,” he said.

“We knew that the arts could be used to foster critical thinking, acceptance of differences,
celebration of diversity and a wider view of the world.”

A major turning point, he said, came in 1992 when the arts council launched an out-of-school
pilot program for children with Arter as the solo artist at the Sullivant Gardens Recreation
Center.

When AmeriCorps began funding and supervising the renamed Children of the Future program in
1995, it expanded from one artist at one site to 15 artists at five sites — including boys and
girls clubs, the King Arts Complex and other facilities.

At its peak, the program had 27 artists at 13 sites. In recognition of such success, Arter
received the Governor’s Award for the Arts in arts education in 2004.

The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education oversees the program, now called Art in the House.

“Jim has been a tireless advocate for the welfare of children and for arts as the pathway to
engagement,” said Tim Katz, director for community arts education at the alliance, a Columbus
nonprofit that supports arts education statewide. “While Jim has had a constant hand in daily
interactions with kids, he also works as an organizer on the macro scale, getting involved on
boards and telling the story of arts education to important people around town. That makes Jim
unique.”

During his career, Arter estimates that he has trained and mentored more than 200 artists who
have served more than 17,000 children.

“When there are cuts, the younger kids coming in aren’t going to have access in the same way,”
he said. “But art by its nature is so creative that we continue to find different ways to survive
the obstacles.”

Arter, a painter and sculptor, plans to continue to invest time in arts education by working
with children at the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center.